Doing animal rescue is extremely rewarding work but it can also be one of the most heartbreaking experiences of a person’s life. As a volunteer for CAWS (Delta County Citizens for Animal Welfare and Shelter), I am generally uplifted by the rewards of the work, but this past Monday was one of those heartbreaking times.
I’ve always hated Mondays and this one was no exception. At my regular day job, phones were ringing, e-mails were flying and problems were cropping up like the dandelions in my lawn. When evening came, I’d planned to sit down with the CAWS program coordinator for a casual check-in, but instead, was interrupted by a call from the county sheriff’s department…a female dog and her pups where on the road near Ash Mesa. One pup had already been hit and killed by a passing car and another was barely moving.
For CAWS, this situation is priority number one – since Delta County doesn’t have an animal shelter, we knew we had to take in these animals and provide whatever care was needed.
Of course, we decided this without having a foster home in which to place them or a veterinarian open to provide the medical attention that they would surely need. No matter, it had to be done. And as we waited for the county Deputy that agreed to pick up the animals and deliver them to us, we frantically made phone calls to find a vet and/or an alternative situation until morning. We were taking things one-step at a time.
As luck would have it, we found a local vet willing to help just as the county Deputy drove into the City Market parking lot were we waited to accept the mother and her babies.
Our hearts sank when we saw the mother dog. She was obviously starving and her mammary glands hung almost to the ground. She had nothing more to give her pups that were also starving. But what really brought tears to our eyes were the grossly clipped ears that revealed that this mother was a Pit Bull that had been raised for fighting.
One of the hardest things to reconcile in animal rescue is not knowing a dog or cat’s history. How did they get to this place in their lives? What happened? Why were they abandoned? For Molly — as I later named her, along with her daughters, Polly and Dolly — those questions were even more mysterious and even more troubling.
I thought… fighting Pit Bulls in Delta County? No way.
I looked at the faces of my fellow rescuers with obvious naïve shock only to get the quiet nods that you get from long-timers that you immediately interpret as, “Oh yeah, it’s been going on for years.”
I quickly went from feeling deeply sad to boiling mad. If there is any truth to this rumor, I thought, CAWS must do whatever it can to stop this incredibly inhumane and unconscionable activity.
After researching other rescue groups and their solutions to animal fighting, I am pleased to announce that CAWS is offering a $1,000 reward to anyone that offers information that leads to the arrest and conviction of any person found guilty of dog fighting in Delta County.
Please go to the CAWS Web site at www.CAWSonline.org and complete the information form located on the home page. You will be asked to identify yourself with full contact information but, rest assured, all leads deemed viable will be shared only with the Delta County Sheriff’s office.
As for Molly, Polly and Dolly, they are now resting comfortably with a local veterinarian while they are nursed back to health. The littlest one, Dolly, is still in some danger as her back legs may be permanently deformed due to malnutrition but CAWS is doing everything possible to help these creatures and I promise to keep you posted on their progress.
JoAnn Kalenak
President, CAWS Board of Directors